WAKEFIELD, Mass. USA – July 1, 2015 – The 3MF Consortium, an industry association recently launched to develop and promote a new full-fidelity file format for 3D printing, today announced four new members:

Stratasys – a leading global provider of 3D printing and additive manufacturing solutions used to perfect product designs and prototypes and create production parts with direct digital manufacturing

“The addition of 3D Systems, Materialise, Siemens PLM Software and Stratasys to our membership ranks further demonstrates the significant industry momentum behind the adoption of 3MF,” said Adrian Lannin, 3MF Consortium executive director. “By participating in the 3MF Consortium, our new members will ensure that their customers get all the advanced capabilities and productivity benefits of the 3MF specification. We welcome them and look forward to their contributions.”

The 3MF Consortium was formed to close the gap between the capabilities of modern 3D printers and outdated file formats. The 3MF specification eliminates the problems associated with currently available file formats, resolving interoperability and functionality issues, enabling companies to focus more on innovation. The first version of the 3MF specification is available now for download at no charge.

About the 3MF Consortium

Launched in 2015, the 3MF Consortium is a Joint Development Foundation project with the goal to define a 3D printing format that will allow design applications to send full-fidelity 3D models to a mix of other applications, platforms, services and printers. The 3MF (for 3D Manufacturing Format) specification eliminates the widespread issues with currently available file formats.

Members of the 3MF Consortium are: 3D Systems; Autodesk, Inc; Dassault Systèmes, SA.; FIT AG/netfabb GmbH; HP; Materialise; Microsoft Corporation; Shapeways, Inc.; Siemens PLM Software; SLM Solutions Group AG; and Stratasys. The starting point for the Consortium’s development of the 3MF specification was Microsoft’s donation of its 3D file format work-in-progress. More information about the 3MF Consortium and the 3MF specification is available at http://threemf.wpengine.com.

SUPPORTING STATEMENTS FROM NEW 3MF CONSORTIUM MEMBERS

3D Systems“Our partnership with Microsoft and the interoperability of the 3MF format will help our customers harness all the key features of our 3D printers from the Windows platform,” said Chuck Hull, Chief Technology Officer and Founder, 3D Systems. “As the inventors of 3D printing and the widely used STL file format, we’re pleased to join the 3MF Consortium and bring our expertise to help shape the future of interoperability and print integration.”

Materialise“For 25 years, Materialise has been dedicated to improving the connection between meaningful applications of 3D printing and the printers themselves through our neutral software platform, helping users to turn their ideas into successfully printable parts. Today, we are proud to join the 3MF consortium and contribute to a new file format that promises to further improve the transfer of data to an even wider variety of machines, thereby enabling the next 25 years of value-added applications.”

– Stefaan Motte, Director 3D Printing Software Segment

Siemens PLM Software“Siemens PLM software is committed to advancing the support of Additive Manufacturing within industry,” said Paul Sicking, senior vice president, Chief Technology Office, Siemens PLM Software. “We are excited to support the definition of the 3MF format and look forward to contributing to the 3MF Consortium as a core team member.”

Stratasys“Stratasys is dedicated to developing new paradigms in design and manufacturing with its best-of-class 3D printing solutions,” said Dan Yalon, executive vice president, business development, marketing & vertical solutions, Stratasys. “To further accelerate the adoption of 3D printing, it needs to become more accessible. This is why Stratasys is pleased to be joining the 3MF Consortium at this time and contributing to its mission to enable a simplified, more intuitive 3D printing user experience.”

3MF is an industry consortium working to define a 3D printing format that will allow design applications to send full-fidelity 3D models to a mix of other applications, platforms, services and printers. Our goal is to provide a specification that eliminates the issues with currently available file formats, and allows companies to focus on innovation, rather than on basic interoperability issues.